From Competitive to Collaborative

These games can all be played in the same way. Start off with the competitive version - play against someone else and try to find some strategies for winning. Once you have played lots of times and have a really good 'feel' for the game, have a go at the collaborative challenge in each one.

Working with another person gives you the chance to bounce ideas off each other and try things out together, and having to persuade someone else that your ideas are worth investigating means you will be practising your mathematical reasoning. 

As a whole group, these games will give you opportunities to work on all five key ingredients that make a successful mathematician: understanding, skills, problem solving, reasoning and attitude. In particular, the collaborative versions will definitely give you the chance to build your resilience and therefore your positive attitude to maths. To find out more about the five ingredients and suggestions about how you can reflect on becoming a better mathematician, take a look at our short article What Makes a Good Mathematician?.